How do I know I can trust your dog?
Like many people, somewhere in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown, my wife and I adopted a pandemic puppy from the San Francisco SPCA, a rescue organization. His name is Herschel and based on the genetic test we ordered — we’re super curious people, after all — it turns out that he is a 100% American Staffordshire Terrier (AKA AmStaff). But to most people, he looks like a pit bull.
Because he was a 5-month old puppy with some anxiety issues when we got him, we knew that we had to start training him right away. So, we enrolled in a 5-week online course that was taught live with recorded practice modules, and eventually got him to a place where we were comfortable with each other, he with us and us with him. Although he’s super smart and can be stubborn, he's obedient and is a really great dog and family member.
As we began to venture out into the world, however, we noticed a lot of people bringing their dogs, many of whom were also likely pandemic puppies like Herschel, into businesses. Some of these dogs wore little red vests that said they were “therapy dogs”, which one would assume also means they are well-behaved and well trained. But the dogs often told a different story.
On more than one occasion, we saw dogs peeing in grocery stores, growling at passersby, and generally behaving mostly like untrained dogs wearing red vests. If I own a business, this poses a BIG problem (and liability). So, how do I know I can trust your dog?
Here’s an idea: What if…there existed a dog training certification service that works with trainers and businesses, like grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, and airlines, that certify how well a dog is trained? This could easily be a multi-sided marketplace, with certified dog trainers on one side, dog owners (or guardians as we call them in San Francisco) on another side, and businesses on yet another side.
The way it might work is that trainers are certified by the marketplace based on some defined standard, to train dogs (and their owners) and further certify that the dogs are well-behaved and trained enough to enter public spaces. The dog owners would pay for the service and certificate (including the vest) through the marketplace, which would take a small percentage and pay the rest to the dog trainers. On the other side of the marketplace, businesses could acquire the certification guidelines and necessary placards to tell patrons whether dogs are allowed based on their certification.
What’s more, there could certainly be several levels of certification to qualify dogs and their owners, from some basic ones that tell people your dog is well-behaved and won’t pee in the store, to expert-level certifications that certify the dog and owner know how to work together, communicate well, and stay calm in stressful situations. And, of course, because this is a marketplace community, it could also sell different kinds of certificates, vests, placards, etc.
So, what do you think? What kinds of certification marketplaces like this already exist? What potential issues or roadblocks exist with such a service?
